Monday, January 19, 2009

The journey to Poojaland

Every couple months, I pop onto SiteMeter to look over the details of who all is visiting Poojaland, and how they arrived here. I'd say the bulk of PL visitors are friends of mine in real life, but there are a decent amount of folks who come by via Internet searches (almost all through Google). BTW, a lot of folks searched on REI-related phrases ("REI backpack," "REI sale") -- and I saw by looking at IP addresses that some folks *at* REI were also looking at my blog (thanks!); I didn't realize I mentioned the place so much :o) Obviously, I'm a huge fan.

Anyway, here, in no particular order, are the best -- and most head-scratching -- phrases people searched on that led them to Poojaland. A lot of people were just in and out of PL, once they realized they didn't find exactly what they were looking for. But as I know so well from working in the world of online publishing: A click's a click!

1. "Buyer's guilt"

2. "That's what she said in Wikipedia"

3. "Addicted to bandaid"

4. "Longest that's what she said"

5. "I want forgo sex"

6. "Squat in the woods"

7. "Is Mary Roach a believer of god"

8. "Enjoy sex bus" (my second favorite)

9. "Chicken necks fresh Seattle (my favorite -- hilarious!!)"

Thursday, January 15, 2009

The morning after the morning after

I've noticed something weird the past few months -- after I go to the gym one evening, I'm not sore the morning after, but the morning after that. Not that I'm a gym rat or anything, but I've been going to the gym off and on for a couple years now, and if I overdid it, I always felt it when I got up the next morning. The past few times when it's been two mornings after, well, I'm not sure what the deal is. It's not like I'm sitting on my butt all day or laying around in bed. Maybe it's just another fun part of getting older..

Monday, January 12, 2009

The male of the species: My "Be wary" list

As some of you know, when I have insomnia (which is unfortunately pretty frequently), I often pass the time by making lists. The other night, I started making a list of things to be wary of in guys. Most of the points come from my dating experience, limited as it is, a few are based on friends' experiences, and a few just come from my observations of the opposite gender.

So...inflammatory/controversial as it may be -- and bearing in mind that these are only MY little red flags -- here it is ...

Be wary of a guy who says he "likes to dance a little every day." Yes, a guy once told me that. On our first and only date.

Be wary of a guy who doesn't like football (this may be unique to me). I figure it'll raise a lot of eyebrows if a guy goes around complaining that his girlfriend/wife is parked on the couch all day on Sundays during the fall. (For those who don't know, I'm a big football fan.)

Be wary of a guy who's dirty. Now, I'm far from a neat freak, but I draw the line at not having hand soap in the bathroom, keeping sugar in the fridge "to keep it away from the ants," letting dead bugs litter the dish-drying rack and cleaning contacts while sitting on the couch, letting the solution drip everywhere and anywhere. (In case you're wondering, yes, it was one guy who had all these qualities. Plus the way he ate made me cringe -- food hanging/dropping everywhere. Ick.). Two other no-no's: Dirt under the fingernails (wash much?) and not washing one's hands after going to the bathroom.

Be wary of a guy who's too cheap. I'm not saying he needs to pay for everything, or even anything. But if the first time you meet face-to-face is over lunch -- and said lunch only ended up costing about $20 for the both of you -- he should at least make the token offer to treat. Then, you counter with "Oh, it's fine, we can go Dutch," and then he can say "OK, sure." And/or explain that he's tight for money or whatever. The guy in question here had a full-time job, so I'm not sure what his deal was. Again, I really, really don't mind paying my own way on dates (in fact, I think it's a bit odd to expect the guy to always treat), but c'mon..

Be wary of a guy who doesn't immediately hit it off with your friends. I can't say I've had many occasions to test this theory out as far as guys I've dated; it's just a feeling I have.

Be wary of a guy who shuns TV (this may be unique to me). No, I'm not looking for a partner in couch-potato action, but I don't get why certain people spit on TVs like they're mind-polluting. There are so many fun, interesting and educational shows out there to enjoy.

Be wary of a guy who never answers his cell phone. I mean, is anyone every THAT busy?! Especially for someone they're seeing?? And especially if, when you're over at their house, they're constantly picking up their phone to check e-mail and the like.

Be wary of a guy who doesn't like to read (books, mainly). This is likely another one that's unique to me. I'm a bookworm, so I need to be with someone who understands that every so often, I need to curl up on the couch with a blanket and a book and do my own thing for an hour or so.

Be wary of a guy with mostly, or a lot of, female friends. I think this is just a personal preference of mine. I don't know, I just find it weird. Plus, I think I'd always be a little suspicious.. you know?

Be wary of a guy who calls his mom while he's on a first date with you. Yes, this happened to a friend of mine, and yes, he was making the call, not answering. Oh, and no, there wasn't anything urgent about the call, he was just calling to chat with her.

Be wary of a guy who makes head-scratching spelling/grammar errors, i.e., signing off by saying "Chau!" or making a joke about having a "stocker." (OK, this could be me being too picky, but I think you need to draw the line somewhere!)

Be wary of a guy who lies about his age. To me, this means he's a bit in denial about his situation, and is trying to attract women who are too young (I mean, why not be truthful, then??). A guy I knew nearly 10 years ago is passing himself off online as only being two years older than he was when I met him those nearly 10 years ago.

Be wary of a guy who's too muscle-y. OK, this is probably another fun quirk I have, but I just can't get into beefy guys. Unless the dude is a weightlifter, wrestler, football player or fireman (the latter of whom could be forgiven for many of the above transgressions ;o)), I don't really get the need for all that bulk. Some years ago, my friend Matthew said this hilarious line: "Yeah, I work out and stuff, but not too much. I don't want to have muscles." He was an indie-pop musician at the time, so it totally made sense to me!

And of course, I must mention the classic: Be wary of a guy who's rude to strangers, especially people in service professions (waiters, etc.)

And there you have it! Maybe I'm taking the glass-half-empty view by making a "Be wary" list rather than a "He's a keeper if ..." list, but I'm sure that come together some other sleepless night. Plus, it's just so much more fun and interesting this way!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

2009: Hope it'll be mighty fine

Wow, it's been nearly a month since my last post! I wish I could say I was busy doing all kinds of interesting things, but I've mostly just been lazing around, enjoying some down time at work and catching up on DVD/TV viewing due to being snowbound for some time. I couldn't say there are any real "highlights" of the last few weeks, but here're some quickie updates:

1. Was snowed in for 10 days. Well, technically, I should say that I was carless for those days; I live on a hill that gets little direct sunlight, and always has cars parked on both sides, so when it's snowy/icy, I don't even bother trying to move the car. Luckily, I was still able to get around town by foot or on the bus.

2. Had some time to finally start watching "The Wire," Season 1, which comes highly recommended. And it definitely lives up to the hype! I must admit I eventually had to start watching it with English subtitles on -- after I had to stop and rewind a scene for the third time to try and understand what folks were saying. I guess I'm just not that fluent in street/cop/thug speak.

3. Bundled Buster into a kitty harness thing, and then took him out into the snow with my sis. Poor guy was mostly terrified, and partly fascinated. He basically meowed and pawed at the back door of my building, trying to find his way in. And, we discovered later, he peed on my sis' $80 custom Seahawks jersey. Yikes!! Thankfully, it was pretty easy to get the stain and stench out..

4. Got a Blu-ray DVD player, yay! Though...I'm still waiting to receive the HDMI cable I need to see true HD. I ordered it off the Amazon Web site on Dec. 19, but as of today (Jan. 8), it still hasn't arrived. Sucks.

5. I bused to Fred Meyer (local grocery-type store) one afternoon to stock up on some food. Though it was a weekday afternoon, apparently everyone was paranoid about the impending snowstorm our media had been teasing for a few days, because the place was PACKED! I stood in line with my basket for probably 15-20 minutes. Behind me was this family with a teenage daughter who must've had some sort of developmental issue, because she kept yelling things like "CHIPS!" and "COOKIES!" and something about someone named Kai. Then she started rocking and kept nudging me...fun. And I even heard her dad saying "Stop hitting me. Please don't hit me!" Yikes.

6. Have unlocked about 60 of 63 songs in Rock Band (guitar, medium level).

So I'm cautiously excited for 2009. 2008 was a decent year -- I could say the usual "thankfully my family stayed healthy," "thankfully I stayed healthy," "thankfully I still have a job" stuff, but overall, I must say it was a bit blah. I'm definitely hoping for a little more excitement this year!